Braced With Love
by XxTwistedEverAfterxX
Summary: After an accident with a shark and some netting, Matt lost his ability to swim, his tail becoming paralysed. A young marine doctor, Matthew, seeks to find a way to fix it, so that the merman can return to the oceans once again and swim with him. Red Velvet Pancakes Fluff.


**Hello! For those of you that don't follow me on Tumblr, there's been quite an absence of my fics on here, and for that, I'm very sorry! I have been writing, quite a lot actually, but I've been posting all my fics on my Tumblr account and neglecting this one a little! I'm very sorry! If you would like to read more of my fics when I post them, rather than me forgetting to re-upload them here, definitely go check out my Tumblr which is on my profile for you! If you like this fic, Like and Reblog it on Tumblr as well~! All my fics are organised by pairing in the 'Fic Master Collection' link on my blog! Big smooches, and sorry for the delay in fics!**

**A few days ago, smieska was having a rough day and became quite sad, and immediately, it troubled me because I really do love seeing people happy, and making them happy. So in an effort to cheer her up, I've written her some Red Velvet Pancakes mermaid fluff! Sorry this took so long, university work piled up much too high! But I hope you enjoy it! Please be happy! Smooch smooch!**

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><p>Soft pink petals fluttered, dancing from the trees and the flowers that budded on their branches, curling through the air in pirouettes in a sensual and playful movement full of a sweet grace. They were unrestricted, unhindered, their motions natural and curving with the breeze that pushed them until they landed ever so softly on the grass below, or the little stream that widened into a saltwater lake, that opened up to the ocean.<p>

Footsteps fell heavily, breaths coming out in pants, puffed through pink lips that were parted to allow air to pass quickly into the lungs of the marine biologist who ran desperately fast, a large machine of wires and metal braces clutched in his arms. Blond eyebrows were knitted, violet eyes wide as he ducked beneath branches, tracing a path he'd walked daily for almost half a year now, right along the stream and down to the lake, only slowing down when he reached the glistening wide surface of the water that opened like a pool, and the dips of land that gave way from grass to half smooth rocks. The liquid was crystal clear, sparkling with tints of blue, disturbed only by the ripples caused by pink petals or green leaves that fell from the trees above.

Looking about, Matthew held the metal closer to his body, his white lab coat that was stained with oil and filth in splotches shifting in the wind, unbuttoned and allowing his body to breathe into the spring breeze, feet bare, and wearing only a simple wetsuit that went down to his elbows and knees, a faded black with accents of violet in stripes and curves. Fair blond hair that gradated a soft caramel towards the tips was tied back into a ponytail, short, but enough to keep it from his face.

"Matt!" he called out, bouncing lightly to the nearest rock, continuing to step down the little pools they made in their dips and hollowed out ridges, shrugging his work coat off as he moved, tossing it backwards to remain dry, clutching to the metal in his other hand, "Matt, I'm sorry I'm late! I was finishing something off!"

Pausing towards the mid section of the rocks, the water of the lake began to lap at his toes, ticklishly warm, and Matthew craned his neck, searching the clear water.

"Matt?" he tried again, turning his head when a splash of water met his ears towards his left and he smiled, skipping carefully in the direction the sound had come from, "Ah, there you are! Were you working on your stretches and training program today?"

Rising from the water a little further away, a dark mop of blond emerged slowly, lavender eyes hooded and staring silently, though by the soft colouring of pink on the man's cheeks, it was clear to see that Matt was happy to see him. Giving a single nod, he raised himself out from the water leisurely with his arms, resting in the shallows, dragging his thickly muscled torso up, grunting and seating himself on a smoothed rock. His long tail of glittering indigo scales dragged along behind him, the intricate layers and patterns only broken by deep pink scars along the powerful tail.

Or rather, it _should have_ been powerful.

"What's that?" Matt asked, voice deeply accented and rumbling in his chest, an echo that seemed to flutter through his gills that shifted between thin and gaping wide slits in his throat, his fins tucking near the side of his face, flared and spread.

Shifting to crouch beside the merman in one of the rock pools, Matthew smiled widely, _proudly_, and held it up to show, extending the metal device for it to be inspected by the curious gentle giant merman.

"It's for your tail!" Matthew enthused, still breathless from the run, but now from excitement, "I added the finishing touches this morning, that's why I was running late. I think this will do the trick!"

Matt lifted a hand from the water, calloused and scratched up with tiny scars along his palm and the back of his hand, frowning at the new item being displayed and traced some of the metal braces, formed in a long curve. It was thick, durable, and cold to the touch but it was smooth.

"I was thinking, we hadn't tried sending electrical pulses to the nerves in your tail yet, so, it could just be a lack of these signals from your brain. The injuries you got from that shark after being tangled in that fishnet were pretty deep, and after studying the scans of your tail I took, I think maybe the wounds simply sliced through some of your nerves, making them weaker," Matthew continued, words excited as he looked to the item in his hand, "So, basing it off of the braces made for human backs, I made this for your tail, because, there's new technology out there that lets paraplegics regain control of their limbs, so, why not alter it a little and try it out on your tail? I mean, sure, we can't use electricity, but I think it's just the nerves needing reconnection, considering I found no real damage to your spinal cord, so this might work!"

Violet eyes lifted, meeting lavender, and where he hoped to see excitement and eagerness, he found only a deep sadness and doubt, and his own smile faded a little, straightening his back.

"You might be able to swim again… Aren't you happy?" he asked softly, watching Matt's eyes drop back down to the glittering scales, the semi-transparent webbing on his fins shifting only with the sway of the water, otherwise remaining immobile, paralysed.

"It's been a long time, Chickadee," Matt sighed, frowning a little, "I'm not really all that hopeful."

Shaking his head, Matthew slipped into the water beside him, dipping down to where it lapped at his waist, drawing a brief chill along his spine before he reached down into the water, grasping at the thick and heavy tail, soft and hot beneath his fingers, the scales rough against the direction of growth, but smooth if his fingers followed the grain down.

"But you want to swim again, right?" Matthew pressed, dipping the metal into the saltwater lake, grunting as he lifted the paralysed tail up, easier to do with the mass shift in water. It was certainly easier to do than up in the air and on land.

"I… Yeah, I do," Matt admitted, using his arms to hoist himself first up and then slide further into the water, his skin glistening wetly, deep scars running across his chest and arms.

"So, chin up! Let's try this!" Matthew chirped, the brace securing around the bump of scales and skin where they met, clipping down little pads and securing them, "I want to swim with you!"

Lavender eyes watched Matthew sadly, the pressure of each little clip of the item lost to him, numb of sensations in the once powerful and majestic tail. He missed it, missed the days when he could swim in the open ocean, but now, he was stranded in shallow waters, unable to go deep for fear of drowning, unable to move without the broad power of his torso and arms, muscles bulked and capable of shredding his prey apart to be eaten. Matthew was enthusiastic, his fingers working deftly to make sure everything was in place, secured with a firm strap around the circumference of the tail to keep the squishy pads held in place firmly.

"Alright, that's all set," Matthew said with a soft pat to the bulky tail, "How does that feel?"

"Chickadee, I already told you, I can't feel…" Matt trailed off, blinking, looking down suddenly. _Warmth_. There was a hot pressure on his tail, smooth, ticklish almost and running slowly in long downwards strokes, lifting, coming up high and dragging back down. He watched in shock as Matthew's hand echoed that path, stroking beneath the surface of the water—the _warm_ water, the shift of his fin caused by the slight current made by Matthew's movements, the slide of water along scales, the pressure of something firm but covered in a squishy material that tingling warmly against the scars and some of his shiny scales.

Matthew smiled wider, eyes hopeful, looking to Matt as he waited for a reaction, judging the expression of shock, trying to weigh it as good or bad. His fingers continued to push against the thick muscles, pressing them down ever so slightly as he applied firm pressure in long strokes of slim fingers, and he felt his heart flutter in delight as he felt a twitch beneath them.

"Little steps, Matt… Come on, try to move your tail, bend it a little," Matthew encouraged softly, a petal from a nearby tree landing close to them, causing ripples to form, meeting those from when Matthew moved backwards.

Dipping down so that up to his shoulders was engulfed in water, Matthew wrapped his arms around the skinniest part of the tail towards the end, lifting it slowly, flexing the bones of the long vertebrae that ran inside. Matt flinched at that, jerking, his hands snapping back to grasp tightly at the rocks he was leaning against, back arched and head angled back to watch, his normally droopy eyes wide open, lips parted in surprise, some of his wet hair sliding along his face and the bridge of his nose—slightly crooked and with a bump in the middle from too many a fist fights with other mermen.

"How does that feel?" Matthew prompted, helping the tail to move in smooth undulating motions, mimicking the way it would whilst naturally swimming, "Anything strange?"

"Yes," Matt croaked out, staring at it as though it was a foreign item, and not a part of his body, "I—I can _feel_."

A hand rose slowly from the water, brushing some hair back first, and then reaching back down, rough calloused fingers brushing along the glittering scales. He could feel his own hand. A choked up sob caught in his throat, his gills flaring in pulses, as though gulping for air.

"Easy there, Matt, easy… Your nerves are connected now, I know the problem, and I can fix this, but you need to practice moving properly again before I can give you a permanent solution. I know it's bulky, but you'll have to wear this brace for now so your nerves get used to receiving signals again, okay?"

Matt nodded, desperate and fast and watched as his tail began to twitch, the fins jerking in little motions and the webbing flaring erratically, eyes crinkling up, lips twisting and pursing into a near pained looking expression.

"Are you okay, Matt?" Matthew asked, seeing the tears starting to glisten in the merman's eyes, "Does it hurt?"

Silently, Matt shook his head this time, concentrating on remembering how it felt for his tail to move, trying to pull back natural instincts he'd once had, needing to focus to be able to bend his tail even in sharp and small difficult to control motions.

"You're doing so well, Matt," Matthew praised, watching as, ever so slowly, more and more of the majestic tail began to regain motion, awkward and jilted, but it was so much better than the paralysis it had been in for so long.

Gaze focused half on the indigo coloured tail, and half on Matt's face, Matthew made no comment when tears began to silently roll over high rise cheek bones, hardly audible sobs falling from lips that began to worry themselves with teeth. Matt's knuckles had turned white with the force he was gripping the rock with, making it crumble in little chunks beneath his strength. His chest began to rise and fall unevenly, broad and powerful scarred pectorals tense, glistening in the warm spring sun, every muscle accentuated. The tail, before immobile, paralysed for so long—_too long_, Matt had told him—was regaining motions slowly but steadily, beginning to flick and splash water upwards, Matthew smiling wider as a larger, near handful, of crystal blue liquid splashed his face, giggling.

The tinkering bell like sound of Matthew's laugh drew Matt's gaze up, and their eyes connected, water sliding along Matthew's face and dragging his hair down and colouring it darker as it grew damp.

"Do you want to try to swim?"

Matt nodded sharply, drawing in a gasping and shuddering breath, the fins on the sides of his face flared wide, and his gills fluttering. Gently, Matthew eased the bulky tail down to rest at the bottom of the shallows, making sure briefly that the brace was adjusted properly and wouldn't slip off, and then reached out to slide his arms underneath Matt's, elbows hooking at the arm pits, arms wrapped around the broad torso, and with Matt's help pushing himself up from the rock, Matthew eased backwards, half on his back in the water, still supported by his feet.

Matt grabbed onto him, muscled arms slung around Matthew's neck, heavily relying on Matthew as he was shifted, long tail dragging, picking up sand particles as it did.

"Come on, nice and gently, move your tail," Matthew whispered against Matt's ear, pointed and long, shaped like an elf's, "I'm holding you, we won't go in deeper waters yet. Trust me, I've got you."

He could feel the shuddered sobbed breaths Matt was puffing out against his neck, the silky, almost slimy texture of his fins flapping against his jaw line, as though trying to fly, trying to copy the movements his tail should be making.

"It's heavy," Matt whispered, voice hoarse, readjusting his webbed hands on Matthew's back, splayed and clinging to the dark wetsuit.

"You can do it," Matthew encouraged, keeping Matt's torso as high as he could, the tail continuing to drag along, and though the merman certainly weighed a lot more than he was capable of lifting on land, this was special circumstance, and in the water it was made easier.

At first, they were jerky movements by the hips and the flukes, the thin curve that joined them to the rest of the tail jolting up and down. Matthew was patient, continuing to pull them slowly, the water glimmering around them, rippling, pink petals landing like feather light silk and balancing on the surface around them.

Matt grunted, blinking tears from his eyes, looking almost frustrated with himself, teeth gritting.

"Use your body. You swim with your body, not just your tail," Matthew instructed gently, instantly feeling the undulating sway of Matt rocking against him; chest, abdomen, stomach, hips, all flexing powerfully until it reached tail where it shifted only by sheer momentum, "That's it, just like that."

Angling his head backwards, Matthew studied the brace shining beneath the surface of the water against the scales, watching it shift and curve with every attempt to swim that Matt made. It was flexible enough, but not so much that he would have the proper mobility quite yet. But they could work on that.

Steadily, ever so slightly, the tail began to move on its own, the curved ripple of Matt's body undulating like a Mexican wave at a packed stadium beginning to transmit into the nerves and muscles, and, shocked, Matt lifted his head to look up at Matthew who only smiled to him dotingly and lovingly. He leaned in to press a kiss to the salty cheek—tears and ocean and relief coming off on his lips as he pulled away, pulling with it an aching sadness like a mask that peeled, and as he slid backwards, pulling Matt more onto him, water splashed up with the flick of his fins, and a smile echoed back onto the larger merman's face.

Tears dripped like diamonds onto Matthew's cheeks from Matt's, and though it was awkward, timid and unsure, the smile was most definitely there on the usually stern and stoic face.

"Now you have no excuse, Matt," Matthew breathed, fingers running along the ridges of spines and webbing protruding from the merman's vertebrae, "Now you have to come keep me company when I go on coral inspections, boring or not."

Nodding, Matt continued to toss water into the air, splashing them with pitter-patters of large droplets, tail now beginning to lift itself very slightly off of the bottom of the shallows, rocking his body against Matthew's as moving through the water became progressively easier, instinct coming back so naturally, like it had never been taken from him.

"Just promise me you that you'll wait for me to catch up—I won't be able to swim as fast as you," Matthew added, leaning up to brush their lips together softly, the metal braces pressing against his thighs as Matt gave a rolling push so that his tail curved up, floating higher in the water.

"I promise… You too… I want to show you how it feels to go that fast, so you'll need a brace too."

Matthew smiled, amused by the other's grasp of the English language, enough to make puns in it.

"I need to brace myself, eh?" he laughed, the water current feeling stronger as their movements grew faster, Matt's tail pushing them out through the saltwater lake, Matthew balancing on the tips of his toes to touch the sand and keep his head above water, fair blond hair splayed on the surface and floating, "I look forward to it then, Matt."

They kissed sweetly, happily, silent and tender promises passing as future events played in their minds; Matthew swimming about the coral, taking mental notes and studying through his goggles as Matt pirouetted nearby, no longer fearing that something could sneak up on the human while so focused and lost in his own work. Matt would fend off sharks that approached too close, and herd schools of fish together just for show that he could. He would swim circles and spirals around Matthew, trailing behind bubbles and making Matthew spin with the current he would create.

It would take a surgery to permanently fix the problem, but Matthew was going to _fix it_, and Matt smiled into their kiss as his tail, for the first time in ages, rolled and took its own weight gingerly while Matthew's feet left the sand and the Canadian eased to float on his back, long legs sliding along scales, feet helping to guide the strong tail as he rocked his own body like he was swimming butterfly on his back with only his legs.

There, against his lips, Matt could feel the words drip softly onto them like the water splashing from his flukes; the softest request repeated again just like the first time that they had met.

"_Let's swim together."_


End file.
